The Great Weaver

O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. (Psalm 139:1-16 ESV). How many times have you gotten envelopes that had big letters on the outside saying something like “You are guaranteed to win 10 million dollars?” Of course, in little tiny print, it says, “if your lucky numbers are the ones chosen at random from the 17 billion others.” And if you’ve ripped the envelope open before you’ve read the small print, you’ll realize that the main purpose of this letter is not to inform you that you’re really rich, but to try to get you to buy magazines or some other product that you probably don’t want. Have you noticed that the only time the world tells us we’re something special, is when they’re trying to sell us something? Are you somebody special? It would seem a godly humility to say, “Oh no, I’m just an ordinary person. Nothing special about me.” However, that’s not the teaching of Scripture. David’s song of praise today clearly says, “I am wonderful!” Has that shepherd boy turned king become arrogant? No, because David doesn’t say, “I’m wonderful because of what I have done!” He says, “I’m wonderful because God does really good work.” In the first six verses, David talks of how intimately God knows us. We say we “know” someone if we can put their name together with their face But that’s not the kind of knowledge God has of you and me. He knows everything about us. He knows our habits. He knows and understands our thoughts. I don’t even always understand my own thoughts. Not only does God know us better than you know ourselves; He is always with us. This is the impact of verses seven through twelve. David reflects on the facts that God knows him intimately and that God is always with him. Then he moves into a reflection based on the fact that God has created him. And David is quick to say, he thinks God has done a fantastic job! The world says, “You are simply a by-product of a natural reproductive process.” But the Bible says, “You are wonderful!” This is true because you were handmade by a Master Craftsman. Science can explain where babies come from, but it can’t explain why every birth feels like a miracle. It can’t explain why the wonder of it takes our breath away. Maybe you think, “OK, I’m wonderful in the sense that all humans, all of God’s creatures, are wonderful. But that still doesn’t prove there’s anything unique about me. I still just ‘a regular person.’” But David’s not done. As we go on, I’m going to suggest some alternate translations. Poetry can be difficult to understand, and it’s even harder to translate, and there can be several ideas about what is the best way to translate it. One possible translation of verse fourteen is, “I am distinguished by your wondrous works.” Or more simply, you’re wonderful because you reflect your Creator in a way that is absolutely unique. When God hand-crafted you, he didn’t just say, OK, let’s make another one, this time with brown hair, or with blue eyes. You are one of a kind! David likens God’s work to that of a weaver. He picks the exact color and thickness of every strand, then He carefully puts them together to create a unique and beautiful creation. When your mother told you “They broke the mold when they made you,” she was partly right! There is no “mold.” There is only hand-crafting. And, that is by the Great Weaver! You’re wonderful because a Master Craftsman created you. You’re wonderful because you uniquely reflect the character of the one who created you. You are wonderful because your life has a purpose. It’s okay to say, “I’m wonderful” – not out of pride in yourself, but because you were created by a Master Craftsman, because you uniquely reflect the character of God and because your life has a purpose. Celebrate today that wonderful work!